This Week’s Featured Link
American introduces a new business-class fare that includes first-class perks – TPG
I don’t understand this. American is introducing Flagship Business Plus which is the same onboard experience but with First Class amenities on the ground. The means you can use Flagship First check in, Flagship First Dining, and get a third checked bag for free. The couple markets I saw it filed in showed a $400 premium each way… but you won’t get most of the benefits anyway. Flagship First check-in is only in Chicago, LA, London, Miami, and New York/JFK. Flagship First Dining is only in Dallas, LA, Miami, and New York. If they want to get more people to use the First Class amenities, they should user targeted upsells for people who will actually be able to use it.
Image of the Week
Two for the Road
Spirit Airlines Postpones Special Meeting of Stockholders Until June 30, 2022 – Spirit Newsroom
I was really hoping we’d know the outcome of the vote by now, but nay… we have to wait another 20 days. This tells me that Spirit didn’t have the votes to get the deal pushed through. Frontier says it won’t up its offer, but we’ll see if that’s true. If so, then JetBlue may very well lose win this battle. Congratulations… to Frontier, if that happens.
When Alitalia Personnel Saved Jews From a Pogrom – Haaretz
Alitalia/ITA may be the Worst Airline Ever but thanks to reader Geoff for sending me this article of something good the airline’s employees did long ago.
10 comments on “3 Links I Love: American Goes Plus, JetBlue Takes the Lead For Spirit, Alitalia Saves”
TPG says the Flagship Plus product is only for sale on flights a) without three-class F b) departing from the four airports with three-class F ground amenities (LAX, DFW, MIA, and JFK, plus LHR arrivals lounge). Makes perfect sense to me: it lets AA get revenue to use the ground facilities for J passengers on 787-operated flights on which they can’t sell F. And as TPG says, it really doesn’t matter if they only sell a very small number of these fares, since it costs them nothing to offer the product for sale.
Alex – There are a few problems here. First, it is offered roundtrip, so if someone doesn’t know the difference, they will pay for it in a direction where there is no value. Second, this simply jumbles the display. It is now under “Premier” on the AA website, and under that you find Flagship Business Plus, Flagship First, and First. I can’t tell the difference between Flagship First and First. I think First is supposed to be for partner airlines, but it doesn’t work that way. For example, AA 1563 DFW-LGA connecting to AA 44 JFK-CDG shows as Flagship First. AA 9270 (op by JetBlue) DFW-JFK connecting to AA 44, however, just says First.
There is no description of what the different products are in the booking process.
OK; that’s almost the opposite of what the TPG article says:
>The carrier appears to only be selling the enhanced product on one-way tickets from its four hubs that have Flagship First dining outposts, though it’s possible that American will expand the availability to connecting and round-trip itineraries in the coming weeks.
But if it’s as you describe, AA definitely has some communication to clean up.
Do a search for DFW – Paris, as an example, it shows up both ways for me.
Maybe Alitalia wasn’t the “worst airline in the world” back in 1967. I remember that war well. I graduated from high school that year.
Leave it to AA to add to the confusion. It’s like the hotel chains that have 7,000 brands. Who can tell the difference between many of them!
That’s expensive dining (the only thing I probably would ever use). But I guess AA aren’t really targeting me with it.
This looks like catering to people with corporate travel policies that ban first class but allow business class.
Except that it’s not sold on planes with three-class first class (according to the TPG article).
To me, it looks like the opposite: selling every part of the three-class first experience they can on flights operated by planes without a first class cabin.
I kick around the idea of buying a fully refundable first class ticket on AA, dining, then cancelling my ticket… just to you know enjoy the experience without paying for it…